S1 Episode 13: The Time of Your Life
by firebreathingfishies
Summary: SERIES FINALE. Back in the hands of Timothy Crowe the Doctor finally has to come clean to Ashley, with dire consequences on all sides. COMPLETE!
1. The Beginning of the End

**A/N: Well well well... episode 13. Unlucky number, so watch this story be terrible lol! I hope not anyway. I'm not doing a synopsis or anything because I don't want to ruin anything, and there'll be a lack of author notes at the top because I probably will end up ruining it in one of my rambles (which i'm sure you'll be all so distraught to lose). So I hope you enjoy it, and I hope I actually tie it up decently - you'd be surprised how bloody hard it is to work out a story arc type thing. Anywhooo... there's flashbacks in this and they'll be in _lovely slanty writing X3_ so it won't be too confusing. And plus it's more fun that having someone standing and explaining EVERYTHING in a boring monotone voice. And I'll be updating quickly (hence it starting so soon after the end of Degeneration) because I want it done before xmas. Cos I'm weird like that. And I want to start series 2 in the new year. Cos I'm weird like that. :S  
**

**Whoosh, that's enough of the rambling. ONWARDS! (-unsheaths sword-)**

* * *

**Chapter One**

**The Beginning of the End**

_**Orbiting Sol III (aka Earth)  
**_

**_March 20__th__, 2008_**

_The Doctor blew out loudly between his pursed lips and tapped the sonic screwdriver on his knee, watching the screen in front of him on the console. The bar that showed the progress of the most recent upgrade for the TARDIS seemed to be stuck on 95 percent, and had been stuck on 95 percent for at least twenty minutes. If there was one thing that the Doctor hated more than anything; more than Cybermen, more than Daleks… it was having to wait for these blasted upgrades to finish._

'_C'mon,' he grunted as the bar crept up two percent. 'C'mon, that's my girl.' _

_It crept up to 99 percent, and then stopped again. The Doctor watched, frowning, and then sighed heavily when it didn't go any further. He leaned back, rubbing his face, and groaned heavily._

_It wouldn't have been so bad if he were somewhere quieter. Like perhaps orbiting the Earth in the 1400s, where no one would have bothered him. Or even the early 1900s would have been better! Someone probably would spot him in their telescope but just assume they had been helping themselves to one too many puffs of opium and gone for a lie down. But 2008… well, he could barely stay in orbit for more than five minutes without having someone needing him._

_It would be nice if humans could sort out their own problems once and a while. Just give him a break. A break to… well, go and sort out someone else's problem. Blimey, he did sort out a lot of problems didn't he? Perhaps, he mused, I should get my own help line._

_His train of thought was interrupted as the blue bar on the screen finally filled up to 100 percent. With a 'whoop' he hopped off the chair and patted the console. 'And about time too!' he told the TARDIS. 'You're just getting old and clanky, aren't you?'_

_The TARDIS hummed a little louder in response, and the Doctor looked at it with raised eyebrows. _

'_Well just listen to you! Can't take a joke anymore, that's for sure.' He was just about to set off to anywhere that wasn't anywhere near Earth, when he noticed something on the screen. He moved towards it, pulling his glasses out of his inside pocket and pushing them up his nose. 'Hello…' he murmured. 'Now what's this?'_

_Something was entering Earth's atmosphere. It had glided right by the TARDIS and was quickly approaching the UK. That would be right, the Doctor thought, that place just attracts trouble. He tried to get a reading on what kind of aircraft it was, but it had gone down too quick. If he had been around the other side of the console then he would have missed it completely._

_He stood for a moment, debating whether or not to go after it. Well he might as well; it wasn't as if his diary was crammed up with things he should be doing. He clicked his tongue and began to set coordinates for the United Kingdom._

'_One of these days,' he told the TARDIS. 'I'm going to learn to mind my own business.' He snapped back a lever at the TARDIS began to descend. 'Doubt it'll be anytime soon though.'

* * *

  
_

_Much to his bewilderment, he didn't land in London. It was strange landing on Earth in the 21__st__ Century and not opening the doors to be faced with the houses of parliament, or the London Eye, or even that quaint little Italian restaurant he always seemed to land behind recently. He had landed behind somewhere, but it most certainly wasn't London._

_He stepped out of the TARDIS and looked around, pulling the door shut. The first thing he noticed was a bleary looking young man leaning against the brick wall, blinking lazily at him and the TARDIS._

'_Hello there!' the Doctor beamed happily as he approached. 'Look, this might seem like a strange question but…' He paused, noticing the stains down the front of the man's shirt. 'Oh, now well look at you. You've been a bit sick there…' He winced. 'You know what? Carry on. It's not important.' He left the bleary man gawping at the TARDIS and headed out of the narrow alley, stepping out onto a dark, cobbled street. He looked both ways and then pulled out his sonic screwdriver. _

_He wasn't surprised when he picked up low levels of telepathic impulses coming from somewhere nearby as there were a lot of humans who were telepathic in someway or another, but when the signal suddenly grew quite strong – strong in the sense that the sonic screwdriver actually whirred noisily and then went temporarily dead, his brow wrinkled. He shook it and bashed it off his hand._

'_Oh now yes,' he grumbled. 'That would just have to happen, wouldn't it? I have the most fantastical contraptions in the universe, but they're less reliable than a bleeding blind tortoise.' _

_He was walked into suddenly and he stumbled back two steps, startled by the sudden invasion on his person. He glanced around, startled but still ready to apologise. _

'_Watch where you're going!' a slightly slurred, female voice snapped at him. 'Jesus, what am I, invisible?'_

_The Doctor looked at the fish-eyed young woman and raised his eyebrows. She was swaying, frowning pointedly at him. 'Not with hair like that you're certainly not.'_

_The young woman ran an unsteady hand through her vibrant red hair and scowled. 'Are you taking the mickey? Cos I don't like…' She stopped and hiccupped. She blinked, her left eye slower to respond that her right and then looked at him in bewilderment. 'You don't know what time it is, do you?'_

_The Doctor half smiled, amused. 'Sorry.' He replied. 'Would you like me to help you find a taxi or something? You look a little… intoxicated.'_

_The girl grimaced at him and began to stagger away. 'Bloody men…' she muttered. 'All the bloody same… ask for the time and they think they've...' She hiccupped again and stumbled off the curb. She cursed drunkenly, and then carried on her way, walking in the gutter._

_The Doctor watched her go, shaking his head. When would humans learn that they devolved about five thousand years when they drank alcohol? He glanced down at the sonic screwdriver and gave it another shake. It buzzed back into life and he moved it around, until he began to receive the signal again._

_It took him a few minutes to accept that the signal was coming from the drunken red head who had stopped to check the bus times on a nearby bus shelter. Just to be sure, he walked right up behind her and shone the screwdriver at the back of her head. _

'_What?' he exclaimed, nose wrinkling. 'How can you be emitting such high levels of telepathy? Human beings shouldn't be giving off these kind of levels for at least another couple of thousand years! What have you been drinking?'_

_The girl turned around and looked at him in alarm, then she batted the screwdriver away. 'Oi!' she snarled. 'Bugger off, will you?'_

'_What's your name?' the Doctor enquired. 'Are you human?'_

'_What kind of stupid…' Hiccup. ' Stupid arse question is that…?' She turned and pointed at the bus timetable. 'Is there a bus due?'_

_The Doctor glanced at it quickly. 'No, I don't think so. So… you're human? Where do you live?'_

_The girl shoved him back. 'Bloody weirdo…' she muttered, and then fishtailed away down the street, pulling her phone out of her pocket. The Doctor watched after her as she fumbled with it, pausing to lean against the shutters of a closed second-hand shop, and then put the phone to her ear. _

'_Manny!' she called into the handset. 'Ma… Manny… Manny can you hear me? Look… good, yeah… right, can you ring me a taxi to pick me up from…' She stopped and glanced around. 'Um… I don't know where I am…'_

_The Doctor rolled his eyes. This was going to be awkward. He would have to find out where she had come from and if the spacecraft that had landed in the area had any link with her, but while she was in this state he had no chance. It looked like he was going to have to do a spot of anonymous investigation. Hopefully he could get to the bottom of all of this without having to get in her way again. He had never liked drunken humans._

_It would probably turn out to be nothing, but it would pass the time for a little while.

* * *

  
_

'I swear to God if you don't all back off right now I'll turn you all into frigging coal dust!'

Ashley sent a small plume of fire in the direction of the nearest advancing soldiers, causing them to back off again. Behind her the Doctor lay on the floor, still unconscious, and the TARDIS stood with its doors open. In front of her stood dozens of soldiers and a grinning Timothy Crowe. A soldier tried to sneak up on her right and she sent another ball of heat in his direction.

'I said _back off_!' she roared.

'Magnificent!' Timothy Crowe applauded, beaming proudly. 'Absolutely magnificent. If I'm totally honest I didn't think you would ever get the hang of it. Have you done anything else yet? I remember the empathy thing, that worked very well with the soldiers the last time. Any mind reading? Sight? Oh it's going to be wonderful to catch up with you again.'

Ashley glared at him. 'I'm not joking. You come near us and I'll kill you.'

Crowe tilted his head and smiled. 'Oh I sincerely doubt that. You see, I've been doing a lot of research on your friend there…' He paused, taking a moment to regard the Doctor. 'Looks like you had a bit of a spat in there. Care to share?'

Ashley continued to stare at him, saying nothing.

'Okay, that's fine. If you'd like to keep the domestic situation private then I understand completely.' He pitched his voice to a stage whisper. 'Although it looks like you came out on top, yes?' He chuckled at the snarl on her face. 'Anyway, yes… I very much doubt that your friend would condone you burning thirty or so men to death just so you could make a clean getaway, do you?'

'I wouldn't be burning them,' Ashley replied. 'Just you. And I'm pretty sure he wouldn't mind that.'

Crowe chuckled again, but there wasn't as much humour. 'Of course. But you're not going to do anything of the sort.' He turned his head to the right. 'Lorna, if you please.'

Before Ashley could look around to the person he had signalled, she felt a sudden sharp pain in her neck. With a grunt she grabbed at the area, pulling out a short, silver dart. She frowned at it, and then looked to Crowe.

'You're trying to sedate me?' she asked, incredulously.

Crowe clapped his hands. 'Oh, now where's the fun in that? How would we be able to have our chat if you were out cold.' He began to walk towards her, making her flinch.

She stuck her hands out at him. 'I'm warning you.' She said, nervously.

'Warn away.' He grinned.

Ashley gritted her teeth, concentrating on that warmth, but nothing happened. Stricken, she looked at her hands, and tried again. Then she realised. 'How did you do that?' she cried. 'What did you do!'

Crowe grabbed her by her wrists and pulled her closer to him, turning the scarred side of his face towards her. 'Don't worry, sweetheart. It's just temporary. Although it doesn't really matter whether it's temporary for you or not anyway, seeing as you'll be dead by the time it wears off.' He mocked thought by looking up towards the ceiling. 'Tell you what though… there's a few things I'd like you and your Doctor to… _trash out_ if you will, so I think we should go and get a nice cup of tea and wait for him to wake up.' He turned his whole face to Ashley. 'I wouldn't want him to miss out.'


	2. Better the Devil You Know

**Chapter Two**

**Better The Devil You Know**

'Do you like the wine? It's 1986 vintage.' Crowe peered into the glass, admiring the red, blood coloured liquid. 'Might not sound much to you but… well, that's over a thousand years old now. You wouldn't think wine would keep for so long, but in the right conditions… Anyway, I thought it would be special. For you, I mean. 1986 was your birth year, am I right?'

Ashley said nothing. She sat in the high backed wooden chair on the opposite side of the table and looked towards the door as if he wasn't there. The tendons on her neck protruded through, and her jaw worked beneath her skin. The room was large, with chalky stone walls and décor that varied from the early 1900s to… well, something out of _Star Trek_. The table they sat at was long and smooth, with nothing on it apart from two glasses of wine, a half empty bottle and two placemats. Various paintings lined the walls, the majority of them having a minor resemblance to Timothy Crowe.

'You should really try it.' Crowe told her, nodding to the glass in front of her. 'It's really very good.'

She turned and scowled at him. 'Get stuffed.' She snapped.

He chuckled gleefully. 'Wonderful. Just wonderful.' He took a drink from his own glass, watching her over the brim.

'You know the Doctor is going to be really mad when he wakes up, and I mean _really_ mad.' Ashley snarled. 'When he wakes up in that cell and realises where we are? Whoo, you're going to wish you never met us.'

Crowe set the glass down carefully and readjusted his placemat. 'Is that so?'

'Yes it is so,' Ashley scowled. 'Very much so. He wouldn't let anything bad happen to me and I can already tell that he really, _really_ doesn't like you.' She pointed an angry finger at him. 'Your days are numbered, mate.'

Crowe nodded, and then clasped his hands under his chin, leaning forward on his elbows. 'May I ask how you got that cut on your head?'

Ashley blinked. 'I… I fell.' She replied.

Crowe nodded. 'And… also I can ask why you have the Doctor's blood on your jeans?'

She looked down at her blood stained trousers. She took a moment to try and think of a response, and then looked back to the door. 'Nothing to do with you.' She replied, quietly.

He half smiled, amused. 'Looks like you had a big fall out. Did he tell you?' He paused and examined her confusion expression. 'Of course not. I doubt you would be making him out to be such a huge hero if he had.' He picked up the glass of wine and took another sip.

Curiosity roused, Ashley narrowed one eye. 'Told me what?'

Crowe raised an eyebrow. 'You do know he knows, right? What, did you think everyone could shoot fire balls from their hands?' He shook his head. 'You're a silly girl.'

'As a matter of fact, I _did_ know he knew,' Ashley shot at him. 'But when he said I'd be better off not knowing, I believed him. It's not as if it's affecting me directly-'

Crowe laughed. 'Not affecting you directly? Having the ability to scorch things doesn't affect you directly?'

'We can deal with that without having to go through unpleasant stories.' Ashley frowned. 'And to be honest, I'd rather not know.' She crossed her arms stubbornly and looked towards the door again.

Crowe nodded, running his finger around the brim of his glass. 'Did it ever occur to you that the Doctor did not want to tell you because of the consequences on himself?' he asked. Ashley turned her eyes back to him, but didn't move her body. 'I mean… think of it this way,' he went on. 'He meets _you_, girl who has quite a rather impressive array of abilities… could be quite the force to be reckoned with if she put her mind to it. And, lets just say she heard something she didn't like. The Doctor strikes me as quite an intelligent man and he knows that if he tells you then you won't be very happy at all. How would you react? Well, there's the chance you could kill him. I very much doubt he would like that.'

Ashley continued to frown at him. 'That wouldn't be his reason.' She told him. 'He wouldn't do that.'

'No, I suppose not,' Crowe shrugged. 'But it makes you wonder, doesn't it? What could possibly be so awful, so _terrible_ about you that the Doctor believes you're better off never knowing your origins? Don't you wonder?'

Ashley swallowed, finding her mouth very dry. 'No.' she lied.

Crowe smiled, sensing her growing discomfort. 'I still find it very ironic that the two of you ended up together the way you have. Honestly, the possibilities of the two of you coming together in such a way… leading to this _very moment_…' He sighed and shook his head. 'It's just… absolutely _fascinating_. Really does make you wonder if there is someone out there, playing on the strings of your future.' He took a moment to consider this.

'You know what?' Ashley scowled, turning to him. 'Your stupid cryptic rambling is getting on my nerves. Will you just get on with killing me please? I think I'd rather that than sit here listening to your crap a minute longer.'

Crowe giggled with glee. 'Oh, you know I love your spirit. It's a shame we can't extract your abilities and keep you around. I think you would look absolutely wonderful in a nice brass cage in the corner.' He held up a finger to her as she took a breath to say something else. 'Now I'm going to give you a choice. I _am_ going to kill you, I can assure you of that. But I'm not completely heartless, I understand that you need to see your friend before your death. So your choice is this; I can kill you now and you can die without seeing him and never knowing what it is you _really_ are to him, or we can wait until he wakes up and you can both have a nice chat before hand. Then we'll see if he's still the big hero in your eyes. So, what will it be?'

Ashley stared at him for a long time. She swallowed, and then looked back to the door. 'I'd like to wait.' She said, quietly.

Crowe grinned. 'That's my girl.' He picked up the wine glass again, but he was interrupted mid-sip by a young man hurrying into the room. The young man's face was ghostly pale, his eyes wide and flicking warily between Crowe and Ashley. He whispered something in Crowe's ear, and then quickly made himself scarce. The news he had delivered, however, brought a new dimension to Crowe's wide grin.

'Looks like we won't have long to wait before that talk of yours. The Doctor is awake.' He sat back in his seat and chuckled.


	3. Home Truths

**Chapter Three**

**Home Truths**

Usually the Doctor felt rejuvenated after his regeneration. He felt fresh, alert, ready for anything. This time, however, he felt terrible. He ached all over, his head was spinning and even though the bullet wound in his stomach that had felled him was gone and healed, it still tingled uncomfortably. His memory was spotty and jumbled, but he could still faintly remember the events in the TARDIS that had lead to him feeling like this now. It felt like a dream. He had hoped it had been a dream… but he knew it wasn't.

The room he had woken up in was small and dim. The walls looked like they had once been a vibrant white, perhaps one of the most decent cells around – but now it was dusty and old. There was no furniture and he had woken on the hard floor, which hadn't helped his aching bones. After a moment of looking around blearily, he realised he knew this place. He had been in a cell like this before. He racked his jumbled memory, and then remembered.

This is where Crowe had kept them the first time around, when they had first arrived at the BLFC.

The Doctor got to his feet unsteadily, wincing at the pain in his stomach. He looked down at his clothes, realising that he was still dressed in the black jumper and leather jacket. He poked at the blood encrusted hole where the bullet had entered and grimaced.

'Could have at least put me in hospital greens.' He muttered, and then returned his attention to the room he was in. There was a control panel on the wall and he approached it, favouring his left leg as he went. He reached in his pocket for his sonic screwdriver, and realised he did not have it. He frowned thoughtfully, but knew he could do nothing without it. Defeated by the dead control panel, he moved to the door and pushed it. As expected, nothing happened.

'Ashley?' he called, thumping his hand on the door. 'Are you out there?'

There was a moment when nothing happened, and then there was a series of _clanking_ and _clanging_ from the other side. He stepped back and waited for the door to open. When it did, two blank faced soldiers looked in at him, rifles pointed at him.

'If you don't mind,' the Doctor told them. 'I'd very much like you to put them away. I was never a very big fan of guns to start with and I must admit that I'd be very, _very _happy if I didn't see another one in my life.'

The soldiers made no move to lower their weapons. They moved in, took one of his arms each, and led him out of the cell. He didn't argue with them.

* * *

Ashley snapped her head around to the door as it opened and stood up quickly, causing her chair to scrape noisily across the stone floor. Two soldiers entered with a very ill looking Doctor between them. He looked around the room before seeing Ashley.

'Doctor!' she cried, starting forward.

One of the soldiers swung his gun around at her, making her stop in her tracks. Crowe leaned back in his seat and clasped his fingers.

'Now as much as I love a good old run and hug reunion,' he sighed. 'I'd rather we didn't do it just now.'

'Are you okay?' the Doctor asked Ashley, ignoring Crowe completely. 'Has he hurt you?'

Ashley shook her head. 'No. I'm fine. But… look at you, Doctor. You're a mess!' She shook her head and fought back the tears that began to rise. 'I'm so sorry…'

'Oh now come on,' Crowe frowned, standing up. 'No one likes teary apologies. They make everyone uncomfortable.' He perched against the side of the table and looked at the Doctor, half smiling. 'Nice to see you again, Doctor.'

The Doctor glared at him. 'I would say the same, but I don't believe there is anything nice about seeing someone with a face like yours.'

Crowe's eyes darkened. 'Yes, I bare the scars from our last meeting.' He ran his fingers over his scarred face. 'Reminds me not to underestimate the pair of you this time around.'

'I'm going to give you one chance,' the Doctor told him darkly. 'Let us go, now, and you might live at the end of this.'

Crowe laughed. 'Oh, was that a death threat, Doctor? Goodness, I had you pegged as the kind of man who would send me away with a slap on the wrists.'

'Oh I let you off lightly the first time,' the Doctor told him. 'This time I'll pull no punches.'

'Good to know.' Crowe smirked. 'Now… I've just been having a wonderful conversation with your friend here. I find it strange that she still doesn't know who she is, despite the fact _you've_ known since you found my bounty ship. Now really, Doctor, there should be no secrets between friends.'

The Doctor narrowed his eyes. 'I'm warning you-'

'No,' Crowe growled. 'You're in no place to be warning, Doctor. Face it, you're dead. You're both dead. Now don't you think before you both perish that you should tell her? Tell her everything? Does she not have a right to know?'

'She doesn't have to!' the Doctor yelled angrily. 'It won't achieve anything!'

'What gives you the right?' Crowe asked.

'What gives _me _the right?' the Doctor shot back incredulously.

'Oh _shut up_!' Ashley cried, causing the two of them to look towards her. She covered her face with both hands and stood like that for a moment, before running them back over her head and through her hair. She looked directly at the Doctor and swallowed hard. 'I need to know.' She said, quietly. 'I need to know now.'

Crowe smirked and crossed his arms, saying nothing. The Doctor looked at her, speechless for a moment. He glanced away nervously, and then shook his head. 'Ashley, it's not going to help anything-'

'Just-' She spoke harshly and then stopped herself and sighed. 'Just tell me.'

The Doctor looked down, brow darkening. Crowe watched, grinning. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the Doctor looked up again, head tilted and eyes cast to the right, averting her gaze.

'Before… before my people perished in the Time War they would keep order in the galaxy. There were many wars between many different lifeforms. Many different planets, systems…' He paused, wondering how to continue. 'There was one race who… their numbers were swelling too quickly. They were spreading across planets like wildfire, wiping out whole civilisations to house themselves. The Time Lords had to intervene. The um… There were attempted negotiations but they were such a primal race, so uncivilised, that they refused every attempt to settle the situation peacefully. Eventually the Time Lords had no choice but to…' He stopped and swallowed, lowering his head.

'Go on, Doctor.' Crowe nodded. 'Make it to the end please.'

The Doctor shot him a look that could have melted concrete. He turned his eyes on Ashley. 'They had no technology of their own,' he told her, almost pleading with her. 'But they wouldn't stop. It was like… like they had a death wish or something and… and there was just no choice. If they weren't stopped then…'

Ashley shook her head, teeth clenched beneath her pursed lips. She looked to Crowe and the Doctor. 'I don't see what this has to do with me. It has nothing to do with me.'

The Doctor shook his head sorrowfully. 'It does. Ashley, it does. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.'

'What?' Ashley cried hysterically, throwing her arms up. Tears coursed down her cheeks. 'You trying to tell me that I'm one of them? That I'm an _alien_? That you destroyed my _home planet_?' She spoke animatedly, like it was the most ridiculous thing in the world – which to her, it was.

The Doctor just looked away. Crowe beamed and clapped his hands. 'Wonderful!' he cried. He turned to Ashley, maniacal grin on his face. 'Isn't that just _wonderful_? This man who you claim is such a hero, such a magnificent person… He is nothing more than a lowly _exterminator_.'

The Doctor turned angrily on him. 'It wasn't like that! I didn't even take _part_ in it!'

Crowe clicked his tongue in disappointment. 'Oh now Doctor. At least shoulder part of the blame, would you?' He glanced to Ashley, who was staring in shock at the Doctor. 'See that? He can't even take the blame for what he did to you. You would have had sisters and brothers you know. Aunties, uncles, grandparents… They all burned. Every single one of them.'

'Shut up.' The Doctor snarled through gritted teeth.

Ashley shook her head, waving her hands. 'No. You're all… just no. That's not true. I have a family. On _Earth_. My mum and…' She laughed nervously, her voice hitting a high pitch. 'That's just ridiculous! I think I would remember being on another friggin' _planet_.'

'Oh I imagine you would if you had been there,' Crowe nodded. 'Turns out though that your family shares a trait with the Doctor here.' He turned and glared at the Doctor. '_Cowardice_. Fleeing from war.'

The Doctor glared back at him, saying nothing.

'No.' Ashley shook her head. 'No. I have a family. My mum's name is Katherine Chambers…' She sniffed and wiped impatiently at the tears tickling her nose. 'My dad was called William Farrow and he walked out on my mum when I was just a baby-'

'No, dear,' Crowe told her. 'That's very wrong.'

The Doctor decided to blank out Crowe completely. 'Ashley, I'm sorry, but it was a long time ago. It couldn't be prevented, you must understand that-'

Ashley scowled suddenly, advancing two angry steps towards him. 'So then it's okay!' she cried. 'So, you Time Lords just went about banishing and killing various life forms that were doing things you didn't like, huh? Same as those Verschlings? Kick them out of the universe where they won't get in the way? Sounds like you dealt in nothing but _pest control_!'

The Doctor shook his head. 'Ashley, no-'

She sobbed angrily. 'Why didn't you just _tell me?_' she cried. 'It wouldn't have been so bad if you had just _told me_!'

'I'm sorry- I just… I didn't think you needed-'

'I didn't need to know I was part of a race that had to be _wiped_ _out_! What did you say they were… _Primal_? _Uncivilised_? Is that why you called me _scum_?'

Crowe rubbed his hands together, grinning. 'Wonderful.'

'I didn't mean that,' the Doctor insisted. 'I was… I was someone else…'

'You were _you_.' Ashley shot back. She stared at him for a moment, and shook her head. 'I can't… I just can't do this…' She started to run for the door, but one of the soldiers grabbed her. She struggled with him and shrieked shrilly.

'Let her go,' Crowe said, waving his hand dismissively. 'Let her run it off. I believe there's someone who wants to see her anyway. She'll find him by herself.'

The soldier let go of her and she ran out of the door. The Doctor called her name and tried to follow, but the soldiers kept a hold on him. He turned to Crowe, eyes blazing.

'There,' Crowe smiled. 'Doesn't it feel better to get it off your chest?'

'I gave you your chance.' The Doctor told him darkly. 'There's no more. No mercy.'

Crowe smiled thinly. 'I hope to get your best, Doctor.' He glanced to one of the soldiers. 'Go and make sure she gets down to room 614.' He settled his eyes back on the Doctor and grinned. 'Time for a little family reunion, don't you think?'


	4. Salvation

**A/N: Loooool boring flashback chapter XD

* * *

**

**Chapter Four**

**Salvation**

_**Constellation of Kasterborous**_

_**Edge of Mutters Spiral Galaxy**_

_The small pod was badly damaged. He didn't expect to get far in it, but he didn't care where he ended up as long as he wasn't back there dying on the front line. It was pouring out black smoke from one of the rear thrusters and the control board lights were flashing alarmingly. This didn't deter him though, he was going to get away if it killed him._

_Thankfully, it appeared that no one had seen the small pod racing away from the war zone that used to be Pirella 9. They were probably too distracted by the blinding explosions that littered the small planet's surface. Chunks of the planet were flying off in all directions, most of them turning into dangerous debris that knocked out fighters on both sides. It was slightly ironic that the battle had begun because of a disagreement over the rightful ownership of the planet and was being settled by its destruction._

_Loah Tithel, twenty-seven cycles old, turned off the screen that was displaying the slaughter of his people behind the pod and focused his attentions on the black, open space ahead of him. He knew it was cowardly, and he knew if he was ever caught then he would be punished severely, but he could not face another second on that battlefield. The Time Lords were laying waste to the Telkalines. If he had stayed he would have been killed. He would rather take his chances adrift in space than certain death on that planet. _

_He managed to get perhaps two hundred thousand miles away from the planet when the left rear thruster packed up, causing the small craft to veer off to the right. Loah struggled to correct the course but knew he knew he wouldn't be able to keep control. Now the warning lights for the right thruster were flashing. If that one went then he was done for. There was no food on this spacecraft, no water. The only thing it contained was an escape pod that doubled as a temporary stasis system. The stasis system had a life of a couple hundred cycles. _

_He contemplated it, but decided he couldn't bear the thought of waking up and finding himself still drifting aimlessly through space._

_Loah sat back in his seat and rubbed his scratched face. His hair was dark and short, cut messily and covered in soot. The parts of his skin that weren't covered in blood were an awful, doughy white. He peered through his fingers at the empty void that stretched ahead of his tiny, battered pod, and made his decision._

_He set the pods system to wake him at the first signs of a safe, habitable planet. Somewhere he could blend in. Somewhere to lie low. Somewhere to start a new life. With that done, he hauled himself out of the cockpit seat, grimacing at the pain that racked through him from the bloody gash on his thigh, and pulled himself to the stasis system. He settled inside, and then pulled the door shut.

* * *

  
_

_The system reanimated him approximately two hundred and thirty five years later, but to him it only seemed like a few hours. He stood there in the warm, cocoon like safety of the stasis tube and looked out into space. The last time he had looked out there had been nothing but distant stars and debris from the destruction of his planet. Now there was a huge, blue-green orb suspended directly ahead of him. It seemed to glow beneath those wispy white curls on its surface. It looked pleasant. Warm. Inviting._

_Slowly, and with stiff joints, Loah opened the door and shifted out. His wound was still bloody and sore, and he limped to the cockpit seat and sat down heavily. He swivelled around to the control panel and went to shut off the right thruster, only to find that it had packed in a long time ago. He began to check how long he had been in stasis, but decided against it. He didn't want to know._

_Instead, he opened all frequencies to see if there was any life on that planet. He assumed there would be given the amount of water on the surface. The cockpit was suddenly filled with deafening chatter and whining feedback. He cried out in alarm, and then quickly shut down the frequencies again. He sat for a moment, breathing heavily, and then tentatively reopened one of the frequencies. _

_A male voice channelled into the cockpit, a soothing, calm voice. Loah listened, mesmerised. He didn't know the language, but the voice was beautiful to him. He decided that he had to go there, that it must be a wonderful place. It looked so calm and peaceful. A perfect world._

_Barely able to contain his excitement, Loah hauled himself out of the cockpit seat and stumbled back to the stasis tube, which would now resort to its other use as the escape pod, and shut himself inside. He took one last long stare at the serene planet before him, before pushing the ejector button.

* * *

  
_

'_Well I guess it would be nice… if I could touch your body, I know not everybody, has a body like yooo-ooou…' _

_The radio blared and the driver sang loudly along with it, swaying her head from side to side and barely paying any attention to the road ahead of her. She was having one hell of a good day. She had just been promoted from warehouse to floor staff in Littlewoods, her rent check had cleared without a single problem for once, and she had found five pounds in the car park beside her car. _

_Yes, she knew it was a good day._

_She hummed with the verse of the song, still not all that familiar with it. She watched the tall green trees soar past her as she shot down the small back road. Her dad would have a fit if he saw the speed she was going. He hated the idea of her having a car in the first place, but she got her mum on her side and finally got dad off her back. She was twenty two years old for God's sake. She knew what she was doing. _

'_'Cause I gotta have faith...Mmm, I gotta have faith…'Cause I gotta have faith, faith, mmm 'cause I gotta have faith-a-faith-a—Oh GOD!'_

_She slammed her foot down on the brake, causing the car to screech painfully as it tried to stop in time. It didn't, and the dishevelled figure who had appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the road rolled over her bonnet and thumped over her roof. The car finally stopped and she sat behind the wheel, clutching hard, and panted heavily. It wasn't until George Michael told her that he needed to reconsider his foolish notion that she snapped out of her trance and scrambled out of the car. She ran towards the figure lying on the tarmac and rolled the body over._

'_Hey! Hey can you hear me? Are you okay? Oh God… Oh God…'_

_The man groaned. His eyelids flickered. _

'_Oh my God, thank… Oh Christ…'_

_His face was scratched and dirty and there was a large, deep looking gash in his thigh. It didn't look like they were from the accident. _

'_Can you hear me? My god I didn't see you there! Can you hang on? There should be another car along soon I…'_

_The man's eyes opened and he looked at her. At first there was just general bemusement in his eyes, and then he smiled. He groped for her hand and found it, putting it against his cheek. She smiled nervously._

'_Someone will come along soon, okay? I'll stay here with you. Can you tell me your name?'_

_He blinked at her, still smiling faintly._

'_Okay, okay. Well I'm Katherine. Katherine Chambers. And I'm really, really sorry I ran you over. My dad is going to be so mad!' She laughed shrilly, mostly from the adrenaline pumping through her._

_The man continued to smile at her. _


	5. Introspect

**Chapter Five**

**Introspect**

The Doctor allowed himself to be led back down the dusty, grimy corridor by the two expressionless soldiers, teeth gritted and eyes narrowed. He had left Crowe with the sound of his laughter ringing in his ears and even though they had descended a flight of stairs, the Doctor still thought he could hear him.

This wasn't how he had planned on her finding out. He had wanted to sit her down, tell her carefully and explain everything, but the way he had told her… well, no wonder she was upset. Although he hadn't expected her to react so badly. Perhaps it was because she was still upset about what happened in the TARDIS? Likely; Ashley had never dealt well with stress. He just hoped she was okay. He wanted to see her, but in his current state he had no chance of getting away from these two soldiers. His muscles still ached and his head throbbed.

She was right. Why hadn't he just told her in the first place? If he had sat her down as soon as he had found the records in that spaceship and told her everything then it wouldn't be so bad. She would have been upset, yes, but not on this scale. If he had had a chance to explain things properly, convince her that he hadn't been involved in the whole thing…

But that was a lie, wasn't it? Perhaps that was the reason he had kept it to himself for so long. He didn't want to admit to himself that it actually happened. That he took part in the battle. But what was he supposed to do? He couldn't have stopped it, and the Telkaline _needed_ to be stopped. They had already laid waste to four other planets. Surely it had been inevitable?

The two soldiers pushed him back into his cell and slammed the door shut. The Doctor stood there for a moment, staring at the scuffed grey walls, and then sat down in the corner.

* * *

Running blind was never a good thing. It wasn't a particularly good idea somewhere you were familiar with, so in a strange and probably very dangerous place, it was downright stupid. But Ashley couldn't help it. The tears had been coming too fast and hard for her to stop, and the pounding in her chest and ears were forcing her legs to go. Her brain was yelling at her to stop, but she couldn't. She stumbled down corridors, bouncing off walls and tripped up steps. When she finally stopped herself her legs gave up on her and she dropped to her knees.

She stayed like that for a moment on all fours, eyes closed and face screwed up. She took in two deep breaths, and then felt the panic slowly melting away. With a long, shaky breath, she sat back and wiped at her eyes. Then she looked around.

The corridor she had ended up in was dark and dirty. Lumps of plaster had fallen from the ceiling, scattering the once smooth and pristine floor beneath her. There was an upturned trolley a little away, and a dented helmet not far away from that. Doors lined the walls, most of them standing open – some off their hinges altogether. After looking at the depressing décor for a moment, Ashley managed to haul herself to her feet and lean against the wall.

Why had they lied to her like that? What possible reason would they have for telling her that she was part _alien_? Why would the Doctor lie? Maybe he was still wrong from the scorpion sting… or maybe it wasn't even him? Perhaps Crowe had done something to him, making him lie like that. The whole idea was just preposterous. She _had_ a family. Her mother, Katherine Chambers, who currently resided at Poppyhelm Care Home with severe catatonia. Her father, William Farrow, who walked out on them before Ashley had even been born. She had cousins, aunties, uncles… It was just impossible. If it were true it meant her whole life back on Earth was a lie, and she wouldn't accept that. She refused to.

But at the same time she _knew_ it was true. She had known all along. She had never told the Doctor about it, mainly because she hadn't wanted him waving that screwdriver of his in her face and partly because it frightened her that she knew, but she did. And she knew because the Doctor knew.

It was strange and complicated to think about, but on a couple of occasions she had found herself standing by the Doctor and suddenly getting a very vivid image in her head. A war. People screaming, fighting… there was fire everywhere. It was horrific to see, and Ashley had made her excuses and gone to sit down for a while until the whole thing had passed and when it finally did pass, it was like it hadn't been there at all. So she ignored it. Played dumb, hoping it would never come back to confront her. Hoping that she and the Doctor could just continue to travel like there was nothing to worry about, even though at the back of both their minds they were waiting for this day.

She needed him. Now, if not sooner. She hadn't meant to scream and yell at him, but she had been so terrified. She needed him to make it all better for her – he was the Doctor, he made everything better. They would get the hell away from this place and pretend that it never happened.

Ashley glanced both ways up the corridor and realised that she had no idea which way she had come. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to head back to that room where Crowe was probably sitting with his scarred face and sinister chuckling and old, stinking wine. But she needed the Doctor.

A thump on a door up the corridor made her gasp and she snapped her head around to the sound. She remained like that for a moment, listening. The thump sounded again – echoing all around her. She knew she should have turned and left right then, but she felt the need to go and see what was making that noise. Tentatively she began to walk up the corridor, her breath coming out in sharp, shaky blasts.

The thump came again, harder and louder. She hesitated when she pinpointed which door the thumping was coming from, and then finally headed towards it. The numbers 614 were embossed beside it, white dust caught in the edges. There was a grimy window in the door, no bigger than a shoebox. Behind it, there was nothing but blackness.

Ashley stared at the door for a long time before reaching out for the handle.

'I wouldn't do that if I were you.' She whirled around with a shriek to see Crowe standing behind her, smiling at her. He gestured to the door with a smirk. 'He's been a bit… _feral_ the past few years. One of my soldiers lost his fingers last time he went in there.'

Ashley stared at him for a moment, and then looked back to the window. Another shriek escaped her when she saw the pale, dirty face of a man staring out at her. His eyes were wide and bloodshot, staring right at Ashley with frightening intensity. He looked young, but haggard, with dishevelled dark hair that hung around his face in clumps. He thumped on the glass, again causing Ashley to jump and let out a squeak.

'He wasn't like this in the beginning.' Crowe sighed, superficial sadness in his voice. 'Actually he was quite articulate for his race. I imagine that was due to the time he had spent on Earth. But, well… I think a few decades of solitary confinement are enough to send anyone around the twist, don't you think?'

Ashley stared at the man on the other side of the glass, barely able to move or even blink. He stared back at her and something peculiar crossed his face. Ashley finally managed to blink, realising that the look was recognition.

'Who… who is he?' she croaked.

Crowe chuckled. 'Oh, have you still not got it yet? Oh dear…' He put an arm around her shoulder and moved his disfigured cheek close to hers. She couldn't push him away. 'Say hello to daddy.' He whispered into her ear.

Ashley stared in horror at the man through the glass. He stared back, and then began to throw himself against the door like a wild animal.


	6. Helping Hands

**A/N: Quick question, I'm planning out series 2 and I'm wondering if there are any Whoniverse villians people would like to see? Like the Daleks or Cybermen etc. There was a serious lack of proper Who aliens in this series, and I need to make sure there's some of them in the next one. Maybe even the Weeping Angels (Blink statues)? That would be a funky one. Anywho, let me know. And as always thanks for the reviews everyone! :D

* * *

**

**Chapter Six**

**Helping Hands**

Slowly but surely, the Doctor was returning to normal. The aching was subsiding and he already had several escape plans set up in his mind, although all of them needed the sonic screwdriver. He was back on his feet now, feeling uncomfortable in the boots his past regeneration spent all his time in, and paced in front of the heavy steel door.

He was still angry. Furious even, but his urge to put Crowe in his place would have to wait until he had seen Ashley. He needed to explain properly, and then they could get away from this place. Hopefully leave it all behind. It might take a while for them both to readjust but they would clear that hurdle when they got to it. For now, however, he had to worry about getting to her. First step was getting out of this cell.

The Doctor pushed against the steel door, already knowing that it wasn't going to achieve anything and not surprised when it didn't. He kicked it in annoyance and returned to pacing. He had tried messing around with the exposed control box on the wall but there wasn't a drop of power running to it, and without his sonic screwdriver it was useless. There were no air vents, no windows… the only exit was that door, and that was sealed tight.

The clanking and clanging of the door being opened took him by surprise, but he still sprung into action very quickly. He ducked behind the door and waited for it to swing open. It did so, and the heavy footsteps of a soldier entering clicked on the hard floor. The Doctor jumped out and brought a fist down, aiming for a connection with the back of the soldier's neck to at least stun them so he could make a quick getaway, but everything quickly went pear-shaped.

The female soldier saw him coming and she didn't look at all surprised. She turned gracefully, grabbing his forearms and twisting. He let out a cry as the room spun around him before landed hard on the floor at her feet. He lay there for a minute, winded, and then looked up at her.

'Well…' he breathed. 'Can't blame me for trying.'

The woman frowned slightly. She was in the same uniform as the other soldiers, although it was obvious from her expression that she wasn't a Zed-Head. She had a kind of Hispanic look about her, with dark hair that was pinned up high on he back of her head. She lowered the heavy rifle against her hip and cocked an eyebrow at him.

'Little skinny thing like you,' she said in a faint, unrecognisable accent. 'Couldn't have taken me down.'

The Doctor nodded. 'Yes, well I've gathered that now.' He sat up, rubbing the small of his back. 'Nice… flippy thing, by the way.'

The woman nodded uninterestedly. 'You want to see your friend, yes?'

The Doctor narrowed one eye at her suspiciously. 'Where is she?'

'I don't know.' The woman replied. 'But I can help to find her.' She glanced over her shoulder to the corridor and then took a step towards him, lowering her voice. 'I know who you are, Doctor. I was on the surveillance team for about two years. I've seen what you do.'

The Doctor continued to look at her. 'Who are you?'

'My name is Reina.' She reached into one of the many compact pockets on her uniform and pulled out something that made the Doctor's eyes light up. 'Your TARDIS is locked in a room on level five. There's a team preparing it for extraction, but I managed to get inside and retrieve this without them seeing me.' She handed over the sonic screwdriver. 'I know how important it is to you.'

The Doctor took it and quickly checked that it hadn't been tampered with. It appeared to be fine. He pushed it in his pocket and went back to eyeing Reina thoughtfully. 'Why are you helping me?'

Reina half shrugged. 'Believe it or not some of us still have a sense of morality here. We do not agree with the way Mr Crowe is rounding up innocent beings the way he is. There's a group of about fifteen of us, but… well you can imagine that fifteen people is not much against the dozens of loyal followers Crowe has. Not to mention the Zed-Heads who follow his every instruction. We've been biding our time, mostly waiting for you to finally be captured.'

'How do I know this isn't just some kind of trick?' the Doctor frowned. 'Last time I was here Crowe let us escape just to ambush us when we weren't expecting it.'

'And look what happened,' Reina insisted. 'He was left disfigured. The whole BLFC was reduced to ruins. Do you really think he would make that mistake again?'

The Doctor considered this. 'Okay. I suppose I have no choice but to believe you, for now anyway. How do I find Ashley?'

'You don't,' Reina replied. 'At least not yet. There's more pressing matters at hand.'

'At the moment the only thing I care about is getting to Ashley. Once I know she's safe then I'll deal with your _pressing matters_.'

'You'll ruin everything.' Reina shook her head. 'You don't understand what is happening here, what he has planned. If you let me explain-'

The Doctor took a step forward. 'I'll deal with him when I've done what I need to do.' He told her angrily. 'I'm going to find Ashley and get back my TARDIS, and then I'll…' He trailed off. 'Crowe will get what's coming to him.'

'If he sees you first he'll kill you.' Reina told him. 'And if he finds out I let you out he'll kill me.'

A dark look flashed across the Doctor's face. 'Then you shouldn't have opened the door.' He replied, and swept past her into the corridor. Reina watched after him worriedly, and then followed after him.


	7. Family Portrait

**A/N: The chapters are getting quite short, I've noticed... well... (-sigh-) I guess I'll have to make the next one pretty long to make up for it.

* * *

**

**Chapter Seven**

**Family Portrait**

He was just staring at her through that grimy glass, his eyes bright and alert, but empty at the same time. There were scars on his cheeks; whether they had always been there or they were self-inflicted from the way he threw himself around Ashley didn't know. She continued to stare back at him. She could see the resemblance to herself in him. She had his eyes. She wondered if he could see him in her. Maybe see her mother.

'Why is he here?' she asked Crowe, who was still standing behind her and also regarding the man in the cell.

Crowe stepped forward so he was standing beside her. The man in the cell turned his strangely blank eyes on him and began to growl and throw himself around again. Crowe smirked in amusement. 'We found him by mistake actually,' he replied. 'I had a team on a routine round-up. They were ordered to pick up any life forms they thought I would find useful, when they came across him on Earth. You must understand that I was just positively ecstatic at the discovery because the Telkalines had been extinct for nearly three hundred years. To find one pottering around on Earth was just unbelievable. We did our research and found out he was living with a human female.' Crowe sighed and shrugged. 'If I'm honest I was a bit brash back in those days. Charged in without thinking and brought him here. It was only when the manipulated DNA killed its fifth test subject that we realised that his abilities were too pure to be of any use. You see your daddy has fancy blood. Instantly kills anything foreign in the bloodstream. Good defensive mechanism, especially against poison and the like. Anyway, I thought it was a bit of a waste to send him back and so…' He nodded to the cell. 'This is where he stayed. I think he's been here for about… twenty-five years? Around about that. He's wonderful just to watch though. Do you want to know how old your father is? He's two hundred and ninety years old. Or something like that. I guess it would take you a while to catch up on birthdays and Christmases, eh?'

Ashley just watched the man behind the glass. 'But he looks so young.'

'I know. Nice thing about Telkaline's; the body doesn't age. They just expire eventually. He's still got a while ahead of him yet. Still only young.'

She managed to pull her gaze away and turned them to Crowe. He looked back at her with a fondness that made her feel sick. 'So that's what I am? A Telka… what was it?'

'Telkaline.' Crowe smiled. 'And yes. Although not _exactly_. Your mother was human.'

She eyed him for a moment and then looked back to the grimy window. The face had gone, but she could hear the thuds and bangs from inside. She turned away from the door and wiped away a tear that had slipped down her cheek.

'It's a real shame you know.' Crowe sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. 'When we first brought Loah here he was hysterical. Kept telling us he had a baby on the way. He must have been looking forward to your birth.' He sighed, but his apologetic tone sounded false. 'Kept shouting about it for a while. But then I suppose he just… forgot.'

'Loah?'

'Oh yes. That's his name. Loah Tithel. Although we didn't find that out until he had been with us for six months. He insisted that he was called William Farrow for a long time.'

Ashley drew in a shaky breath. 'So it was his name.'

Crowe tilted his head and looked towards the ceiling thoughtfully. 'You know, this is all turning out to be much better than I had thought. Much more entertaining. I bet you had no idea you were such a mongrel.' He chuckled and returned his steely gaze to her. 'Changes everything, doesn't it?'

Ashley just looked at him for a moment. Her eyes narrowed slightly when a thought occurred to her. 'My mother…' She paused and swallowed, preparing herself for the answer. 'She's in a mental hospital now…'

Crowe hissed through his teeth. 'Yes, well… we had a bit of a mix up a while ago…'

Ashley's eyes flashed. 'You did that to her.' She stated flatly.

He only shrugged uninterestedly. 'Well, what can I say? At least I sent her back.'

Before she had even realised what she was doing, Ashley had slammed Crowe up against the wall and was beating him with both fists. It was the adrenaline that fuelled her so there was no pattern to her flying fists. She only managed to land two decent punches before Crowe grabbed her hands and shoved her back until she was the one slammed up against that back wall.

'Don't you do that _again_!' he hissed at her. 'You _never_ lay a hand on me, understand? You're _nothing_! You're a disgusting _mongrel_!'

Ashley spat in his face. There was a moment when neither of them moved. The anger in both their eyes said everything. Slowly, Crowe moved back and pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket. He wiped at his face.

'I think we've had enough of these silly games.' He said quietly. 'We should get on with it.'

Ashley just continued to glare at him. He clicked his fingers and a moment later there were three Zed-Head guards by his side. One of them went to grab her arm but she yanked herself away.

'I'm perfectly capable of walking myself.' She hissed, and then headed up the corridor, dark thoughts circulating in her mind and the majority of them involving Crowe.


	8. New Priorities

**Chapter Eight**

**New Priorities**

The Doctor gave the locked door a blast of sonic and threw it open. It banged noisily off the wall on the other side and revealed yet another empty and abandoned room. The Doctor looked over it twice anyway, just in case, before moving onto the next door.

Reina sighed anxiously. If she had known the Doctor was going to be so careless about the whole thing she wouldn't have let him out. At this rate the only thing he was going to achieve was getting them both killed. Thankfully there was no one on this level, apart from perhaps a couple of Zed-Heads who were currently unneeded. At least they would be unneeded until they saw that a prisoner had escaped.

'Doctor, please,' she insisted, jogging to catch up with him as he pushed open another door. 'You're doing it all wrong.'

'I'd like to thank you very much for letting me out of my cell… Reina, was it?' The Doctor only gave her a brief glance before he moved onto the next door. 'And now, if you don't mind, I'd like to carry on fruitlessly and carelessly bursting into rooms on my own, thank you very much.'

'If you carry on doing this you'll run into him.'

'And I'm guessing _him_ is Crowe? If that's the case then it's not much incentive for me to stop if it just so happens to be him I'm looking for, is it?'

Reina rolled her eyes and moved towards him, roughly grabbing his arm just as he pointed the screwdriver at his seventh door. 'If you just _stop_ for a moment and _listen_ to me, maybe you'll get out of here alive.'

The Doctor regarded her for a moment. 'Sorry, but I have this rule about trusting armed soldiers; never trust armed soldiers. So I would stop wasting your breath.' He began to turn away but she pulled him back. Surprised at her hidden strength, he cocked an eyebrow. 'Bet you never skip your breakfast, eh?'

Reina moved close to him, lowering her voice. 'It's not just your friend that Crowe has on his timetable today,' she told him. 'He's got his most ambitious catch _yet_ planned.'

The Doctor considered the young soldier for a moment. She seemed smart and brave, but she was scared. If this was a set-up, it wasn't a very well planned set-up. He couldn't see any reason why she would be doing any of this, apart from the fact that she could be trying to keep him distracted and out of the day. But then again he was distracted and out of the way in the cell. He allowed her to rise over his stubbornness and decided to at least hear out what she had to say.

'What is it then?' he asked.

Reina glanced around nervously, and then pulled him back to one of the rooms he had already burst into. She led him inside and then closed the door over behind her. 'I've been working mainly on level 4,' she explained to him. 'So I don't know the full details, but I know enough.'

The Doctor leaned against a dusty bench and fiddled with the sonic screwdriver. He said nothing and waited for her to explain.

'Apparently Crowe is getting tired of losing people out in the field. He's already lost something like fifteen reconnaissance teams in the past year. He's been bringing in some of the top scientists in existence to work on something on level zero. It's all top secret and hush hush, but I know one of the soldiers on level one. He said that he saw a hell of a lot of rift manipulators going down there.'

The Doctor sucked his teeth pensively, before narrowing one eye. 'So let me get this straight… this is all he-said, she-said at the moment, am I right?'

Reina frowned. 'Well if you mean that no one is a hundred percent sure then yes, but there's definitely something…'

The Doctor stood up and shook his head. 'As much as I would love to go and investigate on level zero – I love levels that are numbered zero, there's always something shifty happening on them – I'm afraid that I've got more important things to be doing. Like grabbing Ashley and getting out of here.' He went to head for the door but she stepped out and blocked his path.

'Do you have any idea how close we are to the Earth?' she told him. 'What would happen if they attempted to open a rift at this proximity?'

This halted the Doctor and he looked at her. 'Yes. As a matter of fact I'm all too familiar with the consequences of improper rift use.' He paused and considered it. 'Do you have any idea why he would be opening it?'

Reina shook her head. 'The only thing I can think of is that he wants to bring something through.'

The Doctor nodded. 'Sounds about right, taking in mind Crowe's fondness of kidnapping. Okay then, Reina, you've got me hooked. I'll come and take a look, but if we pass Crowe or Ashley on the way, I will be stopping. They're still my main priority right now.'

Reina nodded. 'Of course. Thank you.'

He smiled faintly at her. Maybe if she wasn't trained in death like all soldiers were she would make a decent companion. But now wasn't the time for those thoughts. The two of them headed back into the corridor and Reina lead the way to Level Zero.

* * *

The Doctor found himself quite glad that Reina managed to talk him into checking out Level Zero. Well, not glad exactly. There was nothing good about seeing a crudely made, forty foot wide rift manipulator and wired up and ready to be turned on at any moment. Thankfully the room was currently unoccupied, so he could go and inspect the wiring a little more closely without having to sneak around or play hostage-taker.

'Oh blimey,' he mumbled, examining some of the thick black wires that ran along the main control system. 'This is… this is bad. Looks like a five year old soldered this together. Look at that!' He showed the wire to Reina, who saw nothing out of the ordinary. 'If someone was standing on that wire when this thing was booted up they'd catch fire faster than kindling in Tom Jones' underpants.' Reina shot him a bewildered glance but he ignored her and moved further along the wire. 'A rift manipulator is one thing, but one this big? When it opens the gateway will be…' He stood back at studied the whole structure, pulling thoughtfully at his hair. 'It'll be big enough to roll about five double-deckers through!'

Reina continued to watch in complete confusion. 'Double-deckers?' she enquired.

The Doctor glanced to her as if he had forgotten she was there. 'Oh, sorry. I keep forgetting that I'm not in the 21st century. I spend far too much time there, if I'm honest. Never quite sure why.'

'So what now?' Reina asked. 'Can you shut it down?'

The Doctor tapped his chin for a moment. 'It's not just a case of flicking a switch or pulling a plug. This thing has been powering up for weeks. _Months_ even. He's been getting ready for something to come through. Something _big_.'

Reina flashed him a concerned look. 'I think that's even more of a reason to shut it down, don't you?'

He nodded. 'Oh yes, most definitely. It's just not going to be that simple.' He glanced back to the door on the other side of the room. 'And it'll be even harder if we're interrupted.'

Reina followed his gaze and nodded. 'I can stand guard.' She told him. 'There's only one entrance to this room. I can tell whoever comes along that there's important maintenance going on and the room is off limits. It should buy you a little bit of time.'

'That could be dangerous.' He warned her. 'Especially if Crowe comes along.'

Reina shrugged. 'It's what I'm trained for.' She told him.

'Okay.' The Doctor agreed with her before he changed his mind. 'I'll need thirty minutes at the most. If someone gives you a hard time and doesn't believe you, knock twice on the door and give me a minute to hide.'

Reina nodded. 'Yes, sir.'

'And none of that yes sir, stuff,' the Doctor frowned irritably. 'It's embarrassing.'

Reina half smiled and nodded again, and then hurried towards the door. The Doctor watched her go and found himself calling to her.

'And Reina?'

She turned. 'Yes?'

'Thank you.'

She hesitated before smiling, and then she disappeared out of the heavy steel door, closing it firmly behind her. The Doctor watched the door for a moment before getting to work.


	9. Bombshell

**Chapter Nine**

**Bombshell**

Ashley was too deep in thought to hear what the nervous looking soldier had to say at first. It was only when she picked up on the word 'escaped' that she decided that it probably warranted at least part of her attention. She was still flanked on either side by Zed-Heads and Crowe was a little ahead of her, glaring angrily at the nervous young soldier who was waiting to be blamed for the mishap.

'What do you mean, _escaped_?' Crowe hissed in irritation. 'He didn't have that sonic contraption on him. Where were the guards?'

The soldier was flustered. 'Well I didn't… I… my watch ended and Reina came up and…'

'Where's this Reina?' Crowe snarled.

'I don't know, sir. She was gone too.'

Crowe cursed bitterly. 'I knew I should have stuck with the Zed-Heads.' He muttered. He glanced back towards the two soldiers and Ashley. When he saw her watching him curiously, he allowed his angry expression to be replaced with a smile. 'Then I suppose it only adds a little more excitement into our already fun-packed day.' He said through a frozen, humourless grin. 'You're in luck, Miss Chambers, you'll have a little longer before we take you down to the operating theatre.'

'Sir, should I call backup?' the young soldier enquired, glancing nervously to Ashley.

'Not at all,' Crowe replied, waving one hand. 'I think I have this figured out. If he's out looking for us then he'll find us. If not, there's only one other place he could have gone. Especially if what I think has happened has actually happened.'

Ashley half smiled. 'I told you he'd get out.' She said, flatly.

Crowe regarded her for a moment, anger blazing in his eyes, before striding away down the corridor. 'Level zero.' He announced to the other soldiers. The Zed-Heads got moving, yanking Ashley along with them.

* * *

The Doctor glanced at his watch and wiped his forehead. It had been fifteen minutes and he was still no closer to shutting this thing down. He hadn't counted on there being so many dummy wires. Either whoever had built this had absolutely no idea what they had been doing or were extremely paranoid of someone like the Doctor coming along and trying to disarm it. He had thought he would need thirty minutes at the most, but now he was starting to think he would need more like an hour.

Again he was glad that Reina had made him aware of the activities down here, but he was beginning to wish that she hadn't. It was just too much. Too much on his shoulders. If there was any malfunction in the rift when it was turned on – which, judging by the craftsmanship was beginning to look more and more likely – there was a chance it could grow out of control. In any secluded area of space then it would have simply created a slightly abnormal black hole, but being so close to a planet, and a planet with such a high population… well, it wasn't worth going into details.

The Doctor paused when he heard muffled voices on the other side of the door. They were too soft for him to distinguish who it could be. He waited to see if she would knock, but the voices fell quiet and no knocking followed. The Doctor took a breath and returned his attention to the circuit board he had been trying to disable for the last five minutes.

'Not interrupting anything, are we?'

The Doctor stood and whirled around quickly, keeping his balance but finding himself slightly light-headed at the fast movement. He wasn't entirely surprised to see Crowe just through the doorway. Beside him a Zed-Head had Reina at the end of his rifle. Reina looked down at her feet, cheeks flushed.

'I'm quite glad you found this actually, Doctor,' Crowe smiled. 'I was toying with the idea of showing it to you before I killed you. Of course I knew you would have some objections, so I was going to make sure you were bound and gagged before I did show you.'

The Doctor narrowed his eyes. 'Where is she?' he demanded.

Crowe blinked innocently. 'She?' he said, playing dumb. 'Oh yes of course.' He glanced over his shoulder and gestured to the soldiers behind him; one of them a Zed-Head and the other a young and nervous looking regular soldier. They led Ashley into the room. 'Although I was beginning to think you had forgotten about her. You seemed to have found something more important to concern yourself with.'

'Do you have any idea what would happen if this short circuited?' the Doctor demanded angrily. 'Not only would you risk the lives of every single person in this building, you could take out half of Earth in the process.'

Crowe faked shock. 'Really? Goodness I had no idea. Oh well, I suppose we'll just have to see what happens.'

'You can't turn this on, Crowe.' The Doctor warned. 'I won't let you.'

'Well you're in the wrong place to stop me, Doctor,' Crowe chuckled. 'The power button is over here.' He stepped towards a large, wiry console and peered at all the different buttons. 'There's an awful lot of them, isn't there? Buttons, I mean. That's the thing I've never understood about technology, the amount of buttons.'

The Doctor started forward but the Zed-Head by Ashley pointed his gun at him. The Doctor stopped, warily eyeing the rifle. 'This is a big mistake,' he told Crowe. 'You're going to end up dead if you do this and it'll all be for nothing.'

Crowe pushed a ball of air around in his mouth, inflating one cheek and then the other as he peered at the console. 'I'm curious to how you got out of your cell, Doctor.'

The Doctor glanced once to Reina. 'If you think she helped me you're wrong,' he insisted. 'I tricked her into opening the cell.'

Crowe chuckled lightly. 'Is that right? Well why did she remain to hang around outside the door instead of alerting security?' He paced in front of the pair of hostages he had by the door and grinned at the Doctor. 'I must say I respect your willingness to protect one of my soldiers.' He paused by Ashley and leaned close to her. 'Looks like you have competition.'

Ashley only grimaced distastefully at him and looked away.

'I don't like being plotted against.' Crowe sighed, spinning around on his heel to face Reina. 'I thought you all knew that.'

Reina said nothing and continued to glare at him. The Doctor started forward, seeing what was going to happen.

'Don't-' he started, but the gunshot drowned him out. Ashley jumped and closed her eyes tightly. Reina's eyes glazed over, and then she fell on her front with a heavy _thump_. Blood pooled around her head. The Zed-Head who had shot her returned to attention.

'There,' Crowe sighed, clapping his head. 'Good riddance to bad waste.'

The Doctor was glaring at him. 'You didn't need to do that.'

'Oh I did,' Crowe replied. 'Do you have any idea how many people I'm in charge of here? I don't want them all thinking I've gone soft. Got to keep up a good impression and all that.' He sighed and looked up at the rift manipulator behind the Doctor. 'Oh it seems a shame that you would miss all of this.' He considered it for a moment. 'Tell you what, we'll do it now. You can both watch.'

The Doctor frowned deeply. 'This is going to end badly,' he told him. 'I'm assuring you.'

Crowe smiled jovially. 'Brilliant. I hate happy endings.' He turned to the soldiers. 'Tie them up please. Don't want them getting in the way. Then you can all just sit back and enjoy the show.'

The two Zed-Heads advanced on the Doctor and he backed away, raising his hands. 'Look, just… let's talk about this, okay? Maybe if you explain to me exactly what it is you're trying to do…'

'Isn't it obvious?' Crowe laughed. 'That's a rift manipulator. A _big_ rift manipulator. What do _you_ think I want to do with it?'

'Well I already figured that you're bringing something through,' the Doctor replied. 'I'm asking _what_ you're bringing through, or are you one of those evil villains who don't share their dastardly plan before it's completed?'

Crowe smirked. 'I'll share because you're going to be dead soon, Doctor.'

The Doctor shrugged. 'They all make that mistake. But go on.'

Crowe regarded him for a moment. 'It's going to open on an ice planet. It's a few billion light years away. I'd give you the coordinates but I'm not even sure on them myself.'

The Doctor frowned, not understanding. 'But why? You have vortex manipulators, I've seen them in use. Why open a rift that could potentially kill everyone when you could get there in a matter of seconds? It doesn't make sense.'

Crowe leaned on the console with one arm and smirked. 'Let me remind you that one group of bounty hunters practically vanished without a trace with a cargo of Arakreus and you personally blew up another group. I think I've worked my way through enough bounty hunters anyway. Why should I carry on sending people out, risking their lives, when I could bring them right here? I wouldn't have to worry about those rising space fuel prices for one thing.'

The Doctor stared at him for a moment, and then sighed heavily. 'But why? _Why_ are you doing this? Why are you… _harvesting_ innocent beings? To make yourself better? Does it really mean that much to you?'

Crowe laughed heartily. 'You think I'm doing this just for myself?' he cried incredulously. 'What kind of selfish monster do you take me for? No, of course it's not just to better myself. It's to better the whole of mankind.'

The Doctor frowned in confusion. 'I'm sorry, you've lost me.'

Crowe smiled patronisingly. 'You've seen the universe, Doctor. You've seen the amazing things that go on out there. So many beings are gifted, while humans have nothing. Imagine an Earth where everyone is special, and everyone has a special ability. Imagine if everyone had their own _TARDIS_?'

The Doctor recoiled noticeably. '_What?_'

'Oh I've been in your TARDIS. It's fascinating. We could grow hundreds of them from yours. Mass produce them. Sell them on Earth.' He chuckled. 'I'll be rich.'

'You can't be serious!' the Doctor roared. 'You can't do that! You'll… the whole universe will be at risk! You could destroy _everything_!'

Crowe clicked his tongue. 'Oh now I think you should have more faith in human kind, Doctor.' He glanced to Ashley who was staring in disbelief at Crowe, and then he grinned. 'And I meant to thank you, Doctor. If it weren't for you then we wouldn't have Ashley's abilities on board. Actually, I very much doubt that we would all be standing here right now.' He grinned wickedly at the Doctor's confused face. 'It all changes when you learn the truth, doesn't it?'


	10. Two Birds

**A/N: I don't know how anyone else feels about these flashbacks, but I like writing them lol. I have no idea whether they fit or if they're even needed, but they're fun to write. This one was anyway, and the very first one. The other one was just a bit... depressing :( Yes I'll go away now :P

* * *

**

**Chapter Ten**

**Two Birds**

_**The Sol System**_

**_Sol III Date: 20__th__ March, 2008_**

'_What's he doing?' _

'_Just sitting there.'_

'_I wasn't talking about Dead-Head there, I was talking about our target.'_

'_So was I. He's just sitting there.'_

_Nikto Nrendi leaned over the pilot's shoulder to see out of the front window for himself. He frowned a little at the sight of the blue box that hung above the grand, blue-green planet. Nikto cocked his head, not able to understand. The pilot, Gina Henderson, glanced towards him and smiled thinly._

'_Trap?' she suggested._

_Nikto snorted. 'I doubt it. What the hell is he going to do, throw splinters at us? Nah, I don't think he's noticed us.'_

_Gina looked back out of the window at the box. 'We are in stealth mode,' she stated thoughtfully. 'We won't have shown on his system, so he probably just hasn't seen us yet. But still… I've heard a lot about him. I don't just want to assume he hasn't seen us.'_

_Nikto snorted again. 'You need to stop worrying so much.' _

_Gina glanced warily over her shoulder and lowered her voice. 'Yeah, well I can't help it when our ex-boss just happens to be a part of our team.'_

_Nikto followed her uneasy glance to the man who sat in one of the passenger seats in the far corner of the cockpit. His body was rigid and he stared blankly ahead. Nikto clicked his tongue and turned back to Gina. _

'_Him? He can't understand a word we say. He's just programmed to get that Doctor fella's spaceship and get back to the _new_ boss. It's the new boss we got to worry about, Gina.'_

_Gina nodded and sighed. 'I just think it's… well… creepy. I never liked those Zed-Head things, and he's even weirder than the rest of them. Especially when he starts that whistling…'_

'_Look, if you're that uneasy about it, how about we try and lure him out?' Nikto suggested. 'We could land on Sol III. He's a curious fella, that one, so if he sees us passing him and going to land he's bound to follow. And even if he doesn't we can just take off again and catch up with him.'_

_Gina considered this. 'What if we lose him?'_

'_Then we don't tell anyone we found him.' Nikto shrugged. _

'_Okay. Sounds fair to me.' Gina flicked the switch that controlled the stealth mode and began to move the ship forward. _

'_Where should we land?' she asked, peering down at the watery planet._

'_On that one,' Nikto pointed. 'The one that's kind of shaped like a fella with a big nose. Land somewhere in the middle, far away from all that water. That's what I hate about this bloody planet – too much water. It's unnessecary.'_

_Gina nodded, gliding by the box and bringing the ship down towards the country that Nikto had chosen. While she steered, Nikto watched the radar screen._

'_There we go,' he grinned. 'Told you he'd follow us. Now get that stealth back on and hide the ship.'

* * *

  
_

'_I don't believe it,' Gina muttered, checking the scanner in her hand for the second time. 'It's impossible. Seriously…' She thrust it towards Nikto and nudged him hard in his ribs at the same time. 'Take a look at this.'_

_Nikto consulted the scanner, and then looked up to the drunken human swaying against the metal shutters. 'It must be a mistake.' He replied. _

_They were concealed from sight across the road and a little up an alley. The ship was behind them, but invisible to everyone else due to its cloaking device. Across the street was their target, the Doctor, but they had found something even more interesting – and even more valuable. _

'_It never gets it wrong,' Gina hissed. 'And it's on the wanted list.'_

_Nikto and Gina looked at each other for a long time, and Nikto shook his head. 'It's impossible. The last one is at the compound. Everyone says that Telkaline's are extinct.'_

'_But you _know_ there's a hybrid somewhere,' Gina insisted. 'It's on the list! The scanner says that _she_ is that hybrid! Imagine what the reward will be when we bring the Doctor _and_ the Telkaline back with us! Can you imagine?'_

_Nikto took a moment to imagine, and while doing so his eyes lit up. 'We'll be rich.' He confirmed._

'_Damn right.' Gina nodded, tucking the scanner in her belt. 'Do you think we should grab them now? She looks like she'll be an easy grab, she can barely stand up.'_

'_Don't be ridiculous,' Nikto scowled. 'Do you know what those things can do? You'll be dead before you get out the alley. No. We should wait. Watch for a bit. And then send in Giggles, there.'_

_Gina glanced back to the Zed-Head that had been sent along with them. She frowned. 'What if he gets the credit?'_

'_Are you kidding?' Nikto chuckled. 'What's he going to spend his money on? No way, we'll divvy it up between us. If we send him in at least we can save our arses from being scorched if it goes wrong.'_

_Gina nodded reluctantly. 'Okay. So we watch. Then we send him in. Should we call in and tell them what we found?'_

'_No way,' Nikto shook his head. 'If he finds out we lost him, we'll be screwed. If he finds out we lost _her_ too, we'll be dead.'_

_Gina winced. 'You're right.'_

'_So we wait?'_

'_We wait.'

* * *

  
_

_Nikto pushed open the garden gate, but Gina grabbed his arm. She pointed behind her to where the Zed-Head had been a moment ago._

'_He's gone,' she mouthed._

_Nikto glanced around, scowling. That would be right. He had hung around for the past few days while they had watched the Doctor and the red-haired girl and now when they were doing the grab he had vanished. It was too late to back out now though. Nikto just shrugged and continued through the gate. He had only got two steps when his shin hit something hard. He stumbled over the metal dustbin, the crashing sound almost deafening, stopped rigid. He glanced around to see Gina glaring at him._

'_Sshh!' she hissed._

_He nodded, and began to get up again. The dustbin lid crashed on the pavement. Nikto winced, and carried on up the path._

'_Manny?' a faint, bleary voice called faintly from inside the house. 'Is that you?'_

_Nikto and Gina remained silent. At the sound of a car approaching they ducked into the darkness. Car headlight swept over them, but they remained unseen. Slowly, Nikto approached the front door. He put his hand on the handle and tried to see through the frosted glass of the front door._

'_Manny, is that you?' _

_He moved away from the window and turned to look at Gina. She pointed around the side of the house and quietly stepped onto the slightly dishevelled grassy patch in the small garden. Nikto watched her head around to the window, and then put his hand on the door handle again._

'_I'm going to call the police!' The woman's voice was high and wavering. 'You try and get in here and I'll cave your head in!'_

_Nikto half smiled, amused by her fear. He glanced around to Gina to see she was smirking also. She winked at Nikto, and then tapped her fingernails on the window. Nikto stepped back in front of the door and pushed down on the handle, but it was locked. _

'_I'm phoning the police!' There was a pause. 'The police are coming! Right now!'_

_Nikto and Gina glanced to each other and Nikto moved towards her. He mimed that the door was locked, and Gina gestured to the back of the house. They both knew that the woman hadn't phoned the police at all. They were going to make their way around to the back when there was a sudden crash from somewhere inside the house. Gina and Nikto looked at each other in bewilderment and then raced around to the back of the house._

_When they got there everyone had already gone. The back door was off his hinges and in a splintered mess on the floor. Without hesitation Gina sprinted one way up the alley and Nikto went the other. _

_Gina turned the corner of the next alley and ran into a hard body. She stumbled, dazed, and then frowned in confusion at the strange whirring sound all around her. She looked up just to see the blue box fading away to nothingness. She looked up at the Zed-Head beside her and sighed heavily._

'_Well done.' She grumbled. 'We lost them. 'I hope you're bloody happy. We're all in the crap now.' She began to trudge back to find Nikto. 'At least they're together now. Should make it easier to round them up.'_

_Fidus Meynell continued to stare at where the TARDIS had been a moment ago, before turning and following Gina back down the alley. It didn't matter to him that they had lost them. After all, he was just another soldier. _


	11. Exoneration

**Chapter Eleven**

**Exoneration**

The large, warehouse like room was filled with organised chaos. Shortly after handcuffing the Doctor and Ashley together at the back of the room out of the way, Crowe had pressed a button on the intercom system that had resulted in the arrival of thirty something soldiers and a handful of scientists. It was hard to figure out just what was going on, but some of the soldiers had arranged themselves in a defensive line in front of the rift, while others were unpacking weapons and nets. Not one single net looked big enough to catch the creature that the Doctor had envisioned in his mind. Scientists bustled around the controls, bickering and theorising amongst themselves. Crowe stood in the middle of it all, surveying the organisation with a small smile.

'I'm sorry.'

The Doctor knew she wouldn't exactly turn to him with that mischievous grin of hers and blow off the whole thing with one witty comment about the situation, but he had at least hoped that she would look at him. She didn't. She was slumped against the wall like a forgotten rag doll, staring off to one side with a vacant expression. At the moment she didn't look any different to some of the Zed-Heads who were standing around. The Doctor cast a quick glance around the room and decided that this was probably the only chance he would get to attempt to apologise properly.

'I would have told you,' he said, shaking his head. 'I was _going_ to, I swear it's just… I didn't know how. I didn't know how you would react because, let's face it you're very unpredictable. One minute you'll be laughing and hooting about something and a second later you're whacking me across the head because the funny thing didn't seem quite so funny anymore. And… I didn't think you needed to know. It was selfish of me, I know and… but I can't change what happened.' He regarded her sadly. 'Please, Ashley. I couldn't stand for you to hate me.'

She rolled her head around to him and gave him one of her 'stop being stupid' frowns. 'How could I hate you?' she replied, and then looked away across the room again. 'I understand why you didn't tell me. I'm not the brainless chimp you peg me for.'

'I wouldn't say chimp,' the Doctor shrugged. 'More like… lemur. They're cuter.'

She shot him a disapproving look. 'I don't blame you.' She sighed. 'I know it's not your fault I just…' She shook her head and sighed. 'It's just all too much. I can't deal with it.'

The Doctor nodded sympathetically. 'I know. I didn't want you to find out like this, I swear.'

Ashley was glaring towards Crowe, who was now ignoring a concerned scientist. 'I found this bloke in a cell when I ran off before. Crowe says it's my dad.' She paused and swallowed. 'And apparently Crowe was the one who made my mum ill.'

The Doctor nodded, jaw flexing beneath his skin. 'Is that so?'

Ashley nodded and then looked around to him, tears in her eyes. 'How did it get to this? I always knew I was a screw up but this… This is just insane…'

The Doctor turned to her, wanting to put his hands on her shoulders but unable to due to the handcuffs. Instead he ducked down so he could be nose to nose with her and looked at her intently. 'You are not a screw up, okay? It's not your fault where you came from, and who's to say there's even anything wrong with it? Does it change what find of person you are, learning this? I don't think so. You're still the Ashley Chambers who has an unhealthy bond with a pair of bug-stomping boots, the same Ashley Chambers whose brain is about sixty percent movie references, the same Ashley Chambers who has rescued me on a good few occasions.'

Ashley half laughed and shook her head. 'You make yourself sound like a bloody princess and me sound like an idiot.'

'You're brilliant, Ashley. You're the only one of your kind and do you know what that makes you? Special. Don't let anyone tell you any different.'

Ashley was smiling now, but still looking away and there were tears still in her eyes. 'Now you sound like one of those cheesy motivational speakers.'

'Ashley, look at me.'

She reluctantly looked at him.

'We're going to get through this. And then we're going to carry on as normal. Actually, it won't be as normal; it'll be better. It'll be fantastic.' He grinned at her. '_Molto bene_.'

Ashley looked at him for a moment, and then her face collapsed into a look of complete sorrow. She shook her head, new tears coursing down her cheeks. 'I just want to go home,' she told him. 'I want to go home and see my mum.'

The Doctor's face dropped. He swallowed, not expecting this outcome. He nodded and glanced away. 'Okay.' He said quietly. 'Okay.'

'It's… it's not because of you,' Ashley insisted through sobs. 'It's just… I don't want to be different anymore. I want to be normal… and I… the thing is Doctor I knew-'

Before she could finish the door suddenly slammed open and soldiers began to rush into the room, rifles up high. Shouting and alarmed cries suddenly filled the air as the gatecrashers ordered everyone to get down on the floor. Most of the soldiers who were already in the room were too startled to grab for their own guns and placed their hands on their heads. The Doctor and Ashley watched in surprise as the newcomers moved around, rounding everyone up in the centre of the room. Crowe was amongst them, his face almost red with fury.

'What's going on?' Ashley sniffed.

'It's the rebels!' The Doctor exclaimed excitedly, teeth gritted together. 'Oh now if that isn't a miracle I don't know what is.'

'What is this?' Crowe demanded angrily. 'Get back to your stations before I have you all killed!'

A tall, bald headed soldier stepped forward, rifle gripped tight in his gloved hands. 'It's over, Crowe.' He barked. 'What you're doing here is against Galactic Law. We've informed the correct authorities.'

Crowe scowled, beyond furious. 'This is ridiculous! I'll have you all _shot_!'

A young soldier came towards the Doctor and Ashley with a key to their handcuffs. 'Are you both okay?' he asked as he unlocked the cuffs.

'Fantastic,' the Doctor beamed. 'Absolutely fantastic.'

While they were being uncuffed, however, the rebels seemed to briefly lose control – but this brief loss of power was enough to ruin everything. One of Crowe's loyal soldiers barrelled forward, knocking down three of the rebels. He was quickly dealt with, but in the confusion Crowe slipped through the rebels and ran towards the controls.

'Crowe!' the Doctor roared. 'Stop!'

Crowe ignored him and swung around to the controls. He shot the Doctor a venomous glance, eyes brimming with rage, and he activated the rift. There was a crack of lightening across the gateway, and then with a static buzz, a brilliantly white rip began to from, gaping like an open wound. The Doctor watched, horrified, as cold air rushed out and whipped around the room. The soldiers, both loyalists and rebels, backed away from it as it continued to stretch wider until it was the size of the whole back wall. Snow rushed into the room, bewildering the soldiers. Behind the console, Crowe laughed madly.

The Doctor stared, trying to figure out what to do. He didn't know what to do.

He didn't know what he could do.


	12. What We Do Best

**A/N: No wait for the end of this story, I've just finished it and I'm posting it all now because I'm not going to have any writing time over the next couple of weeks, so I thought it would be nicer to get it all in one chunk instead of possibly having to wait until the new year to read it. So here you are, the very last part of series 1 :D

* * *

**

**Chapter Twelve**

**What We Do Best**

Ashley had expressed her dislike for cold conditions while they were on Fanallasoratia and nothing much had changed since then. She screwed up her face against the bitter wind that swept around the room and that caused large goose pimples to raise on her arms. She squinted through the mounting blizzard for the Doctor, but he had vanished in the sea of confused and frightened soldiers. She started forward but was abruptly pushed to the side by a pair of soldiers that had resorted to fighting amongst themselves. With a grunt she slammed back into the wall and cursed.

She could see nothing against the brilliant white snow and the army of grey uniforms – it would have been like being in a black and white film if it wasn't for her vibrant red hair blowing around her head. She tried looking for the Doctor again and thought she saw the top of his head, but it was hard to tell for sure. Getting increasingly cold and repeatedly bashed by the struggling soldiers, she turned and pulled herself up on top of a large computer console that was already starting to form icicles along its edge. She stood up unsteadily and peered into the blizzard.

It was chaos. Dozens of soldiers were fighting among themselves, punching and kicking. A final fight between the loyalists and the rebels. Gunshots rang out sporadically, but it was hard to tell where from. Beyond them the rift gaped, and beyond the gate there was nothing but white. Ice was creeping out of the rift, travelling along the floor and the walls and the ceiling like fast growing moss. The ice took some soldiers by surprise and they slipped on it. A pile of confused bodies piled up in front of the gate.

'Doctor!' Ashley yelled, but her voice was useless against the yelling and the crackling sound from the rift. She looked around again, but the snow was getting heavier. She couldn't see a thing.

Finally she spotted him. She realised it had taken so long to find him because she had been looking for his suit – she had almost forgotten he was still in that black leather jacket. He was by one of the consoles, frantically working on it with the sonic screwdriver. Snow was gathering on his shoulders but it didn't seem to be fazing him one bit. Ashley was just about to climb down and head over when she spotted someone charging through the soldiers.

It was Crowe, and he was heading right for the Doctor. The Doctor couldn't see him coming.

'_Doctor_!' Ashley shrieked, but her voice was again lost in the mayhem. Her eyes widened as she saw Crowe raise the rifle and point it at the Doctor. She looked around frantically for inspiration. Without thinking she snatched a helmet off the head of a soldier beneath her and launched it towards Crowe.

The helmet hit its target, bouncing off the top of Crowe's reddy-blonde head. He stumbled, the rifle dropping from his hands. A pair of soldiers slammed into him and the gun was lost amongst the many feet. Crowe looked around, lip pulled back in a snarl. He saw Ashley. Ashley waved back with a smile. The danger was making her feel more like herself. Crowe scowled deeply and then continued on his way to the Doctor.

Knowing that she had to protect the Doctor while he shut down the rift, she jumped off the console. The ground beneath her was now just a sheet of ice and she skidded and stumbled as she pushed through the forest of soldiers. She could see Crowe out of the corner of one eye and the Doctor out of the other. She made a beeline for Crowe, ducking and weaving under rifle butts and fists.

Just when she thought she had reached Crowe she lost her footing on the ice and fell down. She landed hard on her side and cried out, feeling something in her shoulder crack. She tried to push herself back up but she was knocked back down by the people all around her. Someone stood on her leg and she yelled out angrily. Someone else stumbled over her. If she didn't get up soon she was going to be trampled to death.

It took a lot of effort – especially with her now out-of-action arm – but she managed to pull herself back to her feet. She looked for the Doctor and Crowe, but both of them were gone. She battled her way forward and finally got to the console. A firm hand grabbed hers and she cried out in surprise.

'We have to get out of here, _now_.' The Doctor told her with wild eyes. 'The rift won't close straight off, it takes seven minutes to power down. It won't spread far enough to affect Earth, but this place will be sucked in and I can guarantee you if we get sucked through there we'll turn into ice pops.'

'What about all these people?' Ashley asked.

The Doctor shook his head, obviously pained. 'There's… we can't help them. We have to get out of here or we're-' There was a dull _clang_. The Doctor blinked in bewilderment before staggering off to the right and slumping over the console. Ashley looked up in surprise to see Crowe standing in front of her gripping a fire extinguisher.

'You've ruined _everything_!' he roared at her, and then raised the fire extinguisher up above his head.

Ashley dodged it, mostly by fluke as she skidded on the ice and was bumped along by a passing soldier. She kicked out, catching Crowe on his thigh. He stumbled and dropped the fire extinguisher.

'You little bitch!' he wheezed, and charged towards her.

Ashley readied herself for the collision, but it didn't happen. The Doctor had returned to form and grabbed Crowe by his arm. They both twirled like professional ice skaters, actually looking quite graceful for a moment before they both tipped over the guard rail and tumbled the short distance onto the level the gateway stood on. Ashley moved to the rail and saw Crowe swinging balled fists as the Doctor. The Doctor ducked and bobbed and weaved, but didn't throw a punch back. Ashley started to climb over the rail, but she was bumped into by another soldier. She cursed and tried again, but her foot slipped on the icy rail.

She looked around, white condensation billowing from her nose and mouth. Her skin was practically numb, her hands blue. There was no way she could get to the Doctor. The injection Crowe had given her prevented her from using her powers to help and even if she _hadn't_ been injected she would probably still be rendered useless. She hadn't been able to use her fire abilities on Fanallasoratia and it had been nowhere near as cold as it was now.

The Doctor might have thought she was brilliant, but she knew she wasn't. She was useless. She couldn't even climb over a rail to help him. She watched as they seemed to be engulfed by the battling soldiers.

There was nothing she could do here. The Doctor didn't need her help, but one person did. She turned on her heels and fought her way to the door.


	13. More Humanity in the Alien

**Chapter Thirteen**

**More Humanity in the Alien**

'Crowe, look around you! It's over! Stop fighting it!'

Crowe only bared his teeth in anger and swung another fist at the Doctor. He dodged it easily and raised his hands.

'I'm not going to fight you. I want to help you.'

'_Help me_?' Crowe shrieked. 'You _destroyed me_!'

The Doctor dodged another attack from Crowe but almost lost his balance in the process. He looked around and realised they had moved dangerously close to the open rift. The vicious cold air from it stung the back of his neck and he could feel goose pimples the size of marbles rising on his arms. He returned his attention back to Crowe and lifted his hands.

'We can end this without any more losses,' he said. 'For both of us.'

'Couldn't you see what I was trying to do?' Crowe demanded, visibly shaking with his anger. 'I was doing _good_! Why don't you want to human race to move on, Doctor? Do you like us being useless and helpless? You like to be better than everyone, don't you? You couldn't stand to see a race on the same level as yours! Better, even!'

The Doctor frowned. 'Can't you see what would happen if you handed out TARDIS's to anybody? Timelines would be crossed, futures would be changed. The universe would be destroyed!'

'But it's okay for you to go around changing history, is that right?' Crowe snarled. 'What makes you so special?'

'Because I'm not selfish,' the Doctor replied. 'This… this is selfish. Human beings are the way they are for a reason, they don't need to be changed and meddled with. They evolve their own way into better things. If anything you're preventing the human race evolving!'

'They would have been _magnificent_!'

'They would have been _dangerous_! Can't you see that? Are you that blind?'

Crowe lunged for the Doctor and he sidestepped around him. The Doctor was happier with the new positions – Crowe now had his back to the gaping rift. He looked even eerier silhouetted against the vibrancy of the white world behind him.

'I'm giving you a chance, Crowe,' the Doctor told him. 'I can help you. You can be rehabilitated.'

'I don't want your _help_, Doctor. I want what's mine! I want my riches! My recognition! _I want to be important_!'

The Doctor nodded with a disgusted look on his face. 'You'd risk the whole universe for fifteen minutes of fame, is that it?'

'I want to be _special_,' Crowe hissed. 'I'd be one of the most recognised figures in history, and with a time machine _everyone_ would know it. I would be so powerful… possibly even a leader. The whole universe would be under my thumb.'

The Doctor shook his head. 'You know the problem with these crackpot villainous plans?' he sighed. 'You aim too high. You should start low like, I don't know… taking over the local supermarket. Then you would know if you were cut out for all this dominating the universe stuff. It's pretty obvious you're not cut out for it. You're just a bit _too_ insane.'

Crowe pointed a trembling finger at him. 'This might be over, but I'm going to take you down with me, Doctor.' He lunged forward and the Doctor began to dodge, but he stopped as a dark shadow swept over him. Crowe was completely bewildered for a moment, wondering why he had suddenly come to a stop in mid-air. He looked in confusion at the Doctor, and then down at the thick, hairy coil around his waist. As it slowly dawned on him what was happened, his eyes widened.

The creature that was half in-half out of the rift was enormous, spanning most of the back wall. It was covered in brown hairs that were at thick as rope and below two huge, watery black eyes there were five thick trunks that moved across the room like giant hairy serpents. Below the elephant-like trunks the creature's mouth opened and closed gently, short blunt teeth cracking together like boulders. The soldiers around stopped fighting amongst themselves and looked in horror at the creature as it lifted Crowe's struggling body high into the air.

Crowe kicked and twisted, screaming in terror as he was lifted higher and higher. '_Help me_!' he screamed. '_Doctor, help me! Please help me!'_

The Doctor did nothing. He stood and watched, eyes dark. The creature tossed Crowe up in the air and caught him with another trunk. Crowe screamed agonisingly. The soldiers were now all perfectly still, watching with a morbid fascination. Crowe was tossed once again, but this time he was caught in the cavernous, wet mouth of the hairy creature. The Doctor grimaced as Crowe's screams were ended with a wet _crunch_.

Immediately the soldiers around him moved into action. Some of them grabbed their rifles and started shooting at the creature while others grabbed their tiny, useless nets. The soldiers who had an ounce of sense turned and felt.

The Doctor looked at his watch. Only three minutes before the rift was due to close. It had already expanded into the whole of this room. Three minutes and everyone was going to be on an ice planet roaming with the huge, hairy mammoth-mutants. He had to grab Ashley and get out of here.

He looked around, scanning the crowds. She should have been easy to see with her red hair, but she was nowhere. He frowned, and then remembered what she had told him. Apparently her father was in the compound.

Wondering why nothing could ever be simple, the Doctor fought his way to the door and guessed his way to the cellblock.

* * *

Ashley turned onto the corridor and immediately slowed to a walking pace. It was freezing now; icicles had formed on every available ledge. The floor was covered in a layer of white frost. If she hadn't known what it all meant she would have thought it was quite beautiful. Slowly and carefully she moved forward, running her fingers along the icy wall. It appeared that the cell block was directly above the room where the rift had opened, which probably explained why it was colder here than anywhere else.

She could hear him in his cell, pounding frantically on the door. She wondered if he was frightened. Of course he was frightened – the place was freezing over and he was locked in a tiny room. That was no way for anyone to go, whether he was really her father or not.

Ashley stepped in front of the door and the banging abruptly stopped. The face of the man that Crowe had called Loah stared out at her. His breath fogged the icy glass. There was ice on his top lip and in his hair and eyebrows. She could see him shaking and she felt herself wanting to cry again. She fought back the tears.

'Are you my dad?' she asked.

Loah only looked at her, eyes wide and round. He placed a trembling hand on the glass. Ashley swallowed hard and took a step forward, reaching out with her fingers. She put her hand over his. Then he smiled. It was a shaky, uneven smile, but a smile nonetheless. Ashley couldn't hold back her tears.

'You are, aren't you?' She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. 'I have to get you out of here. We can go back home and we can go see mum! Maybe we can help her, bring her back. And then it'll be the three of us. Like it should have been.'

She moved her hand to the lock on the door and hesitated. She looked at him again. He was still smiling, but his eyes were blank and wild. Did he really see her as his daughter? Or was he seeing this as a way to escape? He could be dangerous.

Ashley battled with the decision. Finally she decided, and gripped the bolt on the door.


	14. Daddy's Girl

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Daddy's Girl**

The Doctor skidded around the corner and instantly gave thanks for his almost scary ability to always take the right direction when not knowing where he was going. He hurried forward, slipping twice on the smooth ice that was getting thicker and thicker beneath his feet.

'Ashley, wait!' he called to her. 'You can't open that door!'

She turned and looked at him and he could see the pain on her face. Her fingers were wrapped around the bolt on the heavy cell door. Her eyes were red and wet, but the tears on her cheeks had frozen into small crystals on her cheeks. There was a glittery cast on her eyelashes and hair and her skin had a painful looking blue tint.

'That's my dad.' She told him in a small voice. 'I can't leave him here.'

The Doctor took a tentative step forward, not wanting to panic or frighten her, but still knowing they didn't have much time left. 'He's not who he used to be,' he told her. 'He might have been a good man at one point in his life, but he's been in that cell for years, Ashley. He's insane. And very powerful.'

Ashley shook her head. 'I'm not leaving him here.'

'He'll kill you, Ashley,' the Doctor insisted. 'Trust me. He doesn't know who you are. He's too far gone. The rift is expanding and the whole place will probably come down before it gets sucked in. We have to leave, Ashley. There's no time.'

Ashley swallowed and glanced around, seeing that the ice was getting thicker and thicker on the walls. She looked down at the bolt. It was practically an ice cube. There was no way she could pull it back on her own.

'Please, Ashley,' the Doctor said softly, one hand held out to her. 'We have to go. I'm so sorry, I'm sorry for everything, I truly am, but I'm not going to let it end like this. We have to go.'

Ashley looked to him, all of her face quivering with emotion. 'What you told me wasn't the thing that upset me,' she told him. 'I know you had no choice and… I understand why the Time Lords had to do what they did. The thing that frightened me so much was that I _already knew_. I knew _everything_. I knew about the Telkalines, and knew about the planets they went through and I even know what the war _looked_ like! I don't know how but… I just knew.'

The Doctor watched her sadly. 'We can talk about it. But we really have to leave now.'

'But… I dreamt about them, Doctor. I've had hundreds of dreams since meeting you and if all that turned out to be true then what else could be true?' She shook her head. 'I don't want them to come true.'

The Doctor took a step forward, now getting anxious at the time. 'They were just dreams, Ashley. They're not real. The reason you knew about the war must have been because of some memory passed on from your father, it happens some times in telepathic races. Everything else were just dreams. Please, we have to go. Come on.' He held out his hand.

Ashley turned her head towards the door, to Loah who was staring out at her through the window. She put her hand on the glass again and shook her head. 'I'm sorry.' She whispered to him. 'I'm so…' She trailed off when something began to happen.

The glass beneath her fingers began to run away like water, running down the metal surface and dripping onto the icy floor at her feet. She snatched her hand away, confused by the acidic reaction her touch had. Suddenly she was engulfed by a very familiar feeling, but at the same time it was completely different. There was a ball of heat in her stomach and it started to spread out, running down her legs and through her arms. She stepped back and looked down, realising she had left a melted footprint in the ice at her feet.

'Wh… what's happening?' she stammered, confused by the sudden rush of heat in her system. 'Doctor! What's happening!'

'It's the injection! It's wearing off! Ashley, you need to calm down. Your power is getting out of control because you're too emotional, you need to calm down!'

The news only made her panic more. 'I can't!' she cried. 'Doctor, help me!'

The Doctor moved forward, but the head coming off her was too strong. The ice on the floor and walls around her was beginning to turn to water, dripping all around her. 'I can't! You're too… Ashley I can't when you're like that! You have to calm down! Please, just calm down!'

'_Yelling at me like that isn't helping_!' Ashley shrieked, panic causing her voice to waver. 'I can't… it won't stop…'

The ice beneath her feet began to crack and she looked down in alarm. She snapped her head back up to the Doctor and both of their eyes widened in realisation of what was happening. The Doctor sprang forward.

'_Ashley_!' he yelled, hands outstretched.

Ashley began to reach out for him, but the ice beneath her gave way. The Doctor grabbed for her but his fingers only skimmed hers. She didn't scream, or yell, or call his name. She just tumbled downwards into the blinding whiteness below. The Doctor looked down into the whiteness of the rift, watching her disappearing into it.

'_Ashley_!' he cried, face red with the force of his voice. He began to move over the side to climb down, panic moving him more than rational thought, when he heard a cracking from above him. He looked up to see another black zigzag forming across the ceiling.

He skidded away just in time. Ice and concrete tumbled down, through the icy hole and piling around in. As soon as the dust cleared the Doctor moved back to the mound, pulling at the debris and digging through the powdered ice. In the cell beside him, the imprisoned Telkaline cried out and thrashed against the door. The Doctor ignored him, and yelled for Ashley.

He couldn't move the rubble and she wasn't responding to his calls. He looked to his watch and realised that he had less that a minute and a half to get out before the whole place came down.

But he couldn't leave her under there.

But if he stayed he would die for certain.

He yelled out in frustration at the decision he had to make. He picked up a large rock and tossed it aside. It crashed skidded along the icy floor, picking up a concertina of white frost. He looked back to the pile of debris. Ice was already creeping over it, turning it into some eerie memorial. He looked at it for a moment longer, pain playing on his face. He knew he had no choice. He had to go.

He turned, fighting the emotions that wanted him to go back and dig, not caring about his own fate, and ran down the icy corridor. Chunks of ice fell around him, but he kept going. If he stopped he feared he wouldn't be able to carry on.

He found the TARDIS on level four, where Reina had said it would be before she had met her demise because she helped him. It's doors were still open, trolleys lying all over from where they had been getting ready to pull it apart to start their TARDIS shopping centre. The Doctor threw himself inside and slammed shut the doors, leaning against them.

He stood there, breathing heavily. He wanted to go back, but he blanked out his mind. He ran to the console and started up the TARDIS. The blue cylinder rose and fell and the whirring, cranking sound started up. The Doctor watched it, teeth clenched. He continued to watch it for a long time after it had stopped. Eventually, he allowed himself to run back over the events of the last three minutes.

With an anguished yell he punched the console, and dropped to his knees.

He hadn't kept his promise after all.

He hadn't been able to save her.


	15. Consolation

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Consolation**

The Doctor closed the doors of the TARDIS gently behind him and smoothed down the front of his blue pinstripe suit. The air was nicely warm, the sun casting a orange glow over everything. He squinted up at the baby blue sky, expression solemn, and then across the road to his destination.

The care home looked calm and peaceful behind the quaint wooden fence that surrounded it. Bright flowers filled the two window boxes on either side of the wooden doors that lead inside. The Doctor stood and regarded it for a long moment before approaching, opening the gate and passing the sign that read _Poppyhelm_.

The elderly but handsome receptionist asked for his name, and he told her John Smith. She looked sceptical, so he showed her the psychic paper. She saw a driving licence with his photograph and the name John Smith beside it. She asked who he wanted to visit. He told her Katherine Chambers. She asked what relation he was. He told her family friend.

He was led down a cosy but clean looking corridor that brought about a wave of nostalgia in him even though there was nothing in the pictures on the walls that he found familiar. He always found care homes peculiar, as they made you reminisce even if you had nothing to reminisce about. The Doctor had a lot to reminisce about, but he would have been happier without it.

The nurse directed him into a room and then left him without waiting for a thank you or anything. The Doctor tentatively peered around the door and took in the layout of the room. It was a perfect square, decorated in the same memory-lane style as the corridor outside. There was a single bed on one side, unmistakable as a hospital bed with its metal workings and hard, plastic sheets covering the mattress. On the other side of the room was a wardrobe and a chest of drawers. Frame photographs scattered the top. By the window was a small, two person table with high backed, green felt chairs on either side. In one of these chairs sat a blank faced, weathered skin woman.

The Doctor studied her for a moment. It was remarkable just how much her daughter had looked like her. Katherine Chambers held a vacant, blank stare in her eyes. She didn't look up as he entered.

'Miss Chambers?' he said, gently. He assumed she was a miss as Ashley had never mentioned anything about her being married. He stepped forward, not surprised when Katherine didn't react to his voice. 'My name's the Doctor. You're probably tired of doctors around here, I bet. Always coming in and having something to theorise about. Never really liked doctors much, myself. Makes you wonder why I have the name, doesn't it?'

Katherine Chambers didn't do so much as blink. He regarded her sadly for a moment, and then moved across to the photographs on the top of the drawers. He peered at them all, one by one. A very familiar face beamed up at him from one of the frames, eyes bright and grin wide and slightly goofy. He smiled and felt a pang of sadness. He looked away before the pang could turn into anything more painful.

'I knew your daughter,' he said, moving to the other felt green chair beside her. He sat on the edge and looked out of the window. The view was of one of the fields that surrounded the town. The same field that he had ran through with Ashley on numerous occasions. He looked away at his hands. 'We… We travelled for a while. She was…' He glanced up and rubbed his chin. 'She was wonderful. You should be very proud of her.'

Katherine didn't respond. She continued to stare down at something invisible by the base of the bed. The Doctor followed her gaze and stared at the same spot.

'She didn't think she was, you know? And I'll admit she had her moments… But she was special. She was very special. And I…' He glanced down, fighting the lump in his throat. 'And I let her down. I promised her I would keep her safe but I… I couldn't. I should have known I couldn't. If it wasn't for me none of this wouldn't have happened. She wouldn't have had to change her life. She could have carried on as normal. She would still be _alive_.' He lowered his head as tears slipped out. 'I'm so sorry. I couldn't do anything. I'm so, so sorry…'

He froze at the feel of the gentle hand on his knee and looked up in surprise. Katherine sat in the chair; head turned towards him and gentle smile on her face. She briefly squeezed his knee. 'She wouldn't have had it any other way.' She smiled. The Doctor gaped at her as she pulled her hand back into her own lap and returned to her unresponsive, catatonic state.

He remained in that chair for about an hour, looking out onto the field through the window. Katherine didn't move or speak again, but he didn't expect her to. Finally he stood up and left the room.

The air seemed sweeter when he stepped outside. He stood on the front path outside of the care home and looked up at the sky. He breathed out slowly, and then pushed his hands in his pockets before heading back towards the TARDIS that waited affectionately for him.

Waited to help him move on.


	16. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

There were only fourteen out of the two hundred soldiers that had worked under Timothy Crowe that were still fighting for their lives against the huge, hairy creature. Bullets seemed useless. The cold was overwhelming, and those that hadn't been killed by the creature had succumbed to the freezing conditions and were lying in the snow, quickly turning blue.

The building where the rift had been opened now sat in the middle of a vast flat area being buried in the vicious snowstorm. Half of it collapsed, but some of it still stood. Probably not for much longer though.

About half a mile from the war zone was a row of jagged, icy cliffs. In the base of one of them was a small cave that was faced away from the merciless arctic winds and offered a small amount of shelter from the cold. Inside orange light flickered on the walls.

Loah picked up another handful of dried brush he had been lucky enough to find growing at the back of the cave and tossed it onto the fire. He waved his hand over it, causing the flames to double. Once he was satisfied with the heat he moved back to a sitting position against the back wall. He grunted as he pulled the limp body of his daughter onto his knee and cuddled her for warmth.

She looked like her mother. Loah wasn't quite sure what her mother looked like anymore; the memory of her was very faint, but at the same time he was quite sure she looked just like her. And that red hair – she looked like a true Telkaline.

She was starting to wake up. She would be in pain – she had fallen a great distance. Bones were broken, but Loah would fix them. He would make her better. He would care for her. He would do his job as her father to protect her.

Her eyes flickered open and looked up at him. Loah smiled and ran a hand over her cheek.

**The End.**

* * *

**A/N: Well there you go. End of series one. Hope no one is too aggravated at the crappily depressing ending lol! I know it's a lot like Rose's departure in Doomsday, what with falling into a rift and all that crap, but it didn't seem similar in my head when I thought of it, only when I wrote it. Then it was a bit too late to change lol! Like I said I wanted to post the end chapters altogether because I'll probably be out of action until the new year now (and if I'm honest, I think I need a bit of a break from writing, my brain is over-frying and my fingers hurt lol). **

**But thank you to EVERYONE (you lurkers too :P) who have been following this series, it really means a lot to know that people have stuck with it to the end. Really, you're all great :D There will be a series 2 coming up after Christmas, probably just after New Year. If it's not already obvious there will be a new companion and hopefully some more familiar people from the Whoniverse lol. **

**Again thanks to everyone, and I'll be back with S2 Episode 1: Nothing Important Happened Today in the New Year! So Happy Crimbo everyone! xxxxx  
**


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